Lucky One
by Madrigal-in-training
Summary: 'Jiraiya was the lucky one,' Tsunade mused, 'He set out to create a family.'


_**Lucky One**_

'_**Jiraiya was the lucky one,' Tsunade mused, 'He set out to create a family.'**_

_**xxxxxxx**_

_**xxxxxxx**_

"Want to come over for dinner, hime?" the white-haired Sennin's roguish grin and waggling eyebrows didn't hide the sincerity of his statement. Regardless, Tsunade, almost by nature really, tossed one of her glass paperweights toward his head. He stepped aside, it shattered, and, like clockwork, a grumbling Chuunin came in to swipe up the pieces.

"So cruel…" Jiraiya moped.

"It was your fault for acting like a baka, _baka_," Tsunade shot back, though there was little heat in her voice, "Now go away. Unlike someone I can mention, I actually have work to do."

"Hey, running a spy network is a difficult job," Jiraiya immediately protested, "Not all of us can sit in a comfy chair all day and have our assistants do the paper work."

Tsunade made a dismissive gesture with her hand. "You haven't been spying for ages, you pervert. You just stay at home and take advantage of other people's cooking."

Jiraiya grinned smugly. "Well I do have to recuperate after the war, you know."

"Six years is more than enough time to recuperate," Tsunade said, archly. They exchanged a few more barbs before one of Jiraiya's comments resulted in another paperweight thrown at his head, and the Toad Sannin jumped through the window, laughing as he went.

Tsunade relaxed against her chair with a small sigh. She had been feeling a little despondent lately, and while Jiraiya's natural exuberance lifted her from that for the moment, it returned in even greater force after he had left. She was supposed that it because today was Dan's death. Tsunade had long since come to terms with the loss of her lover, but on days like this, she still allowed herself to fall into a small depression.

She was also, as awful as it sounded, bitter about her teammate's good fortune. Tsunade had been distraught when she had heard of Jiraiya's death to the forces of Pain, and disbelieving when Naruto barged into her office with his wild theories about his Master's survival. After all, Naruto reasoned, had Jiraiya _really _died, wouldn't he have been reanimated as a soldier for the Akatsuki? The Toad Sannin's prowess in the battlefield was undeniable and his body would be a hit to the Leaf nin's morale; Akatsuki would never have been able to resist such a prize.

She had considered his idea to be the folly of dreams, but once again, Naruto had done the impossible and brought her teammate back to her. It seemed that Nagato could not bare to kill his former sensei, a man whom he had looked up to as a father, and left Jiraiya's body in a stasis field deep within the bowels of Amegakure.

He had been found shortly after the end of the war, with Konan's help, and Jiraiya used all of his not-inconsiderable influence to keep one of his former student's alive. She had to undergo a deprogramming session with Ibiki and could only work in a limited capacity with Jiraiya, but she was still alive, healthy, and even happy. It was a better fate than any of the other members received.

Tsunade had forgiven the woman's past, although she was still wary of her, but Konan did not seem to mind. The blue-haired woman seeked forgiveness only from her old sensei, and Jiraiya had freely given it to her. She was still somewhat ostracized by Konoha, but mainly kept to herself. The only people she regularly interacted with was Jiraiya, her sensei, Naruto, her fellow apprentice, and Hinata, who Naruto had married a little over a year ago.

It seemed Jiraiya did little these days besides perv on women, giggle over seals with Naruto, and eat Konan's or Hinata's cooking. He could occasionally be found strolling through the village with Naruto's newborn son, Bolt, on his shoulders, but that hadn't happened recently since Hinata found out that her son was being used as a 'chick magnet'. Naruto intervened on behalf of his sensei's life, but only after his wife's kunai started inching toward the man's balls.

Tsunade did not begrudge the man his rest, because he certainly deserved it. In many ways, Jiraiya had been dealt a worse hand than her own. The orphaned man had lost the ability to have children in the Second Shinobi War, and treated all of his apprentices as family. Unlike Orochimaru, he never faltered in the face of their power, and taught them to rise above his own strengths. Unlike Tsunade, he never shirked away from his pain, and took care of his students rather than the other way around. All five of Jiraiya's apprentices became S-ranked Sannin, and perhaps more impressively, each came to look at him as a father.

It was a little ironic that the Sannin who had least wanted immortality, had been the one to gain it. Tsunade and Orochimaru would fade in the annals of history, but Jiraiya, the trainer of the heroes of legend, would be immortalized in the stories of his students. Although it had not been his intention, Jiraiya ended up becoming the most important man in the Elemental nations, because he had indirectly written history through his children.

This didn't mean that he hadn't suffered. Jiraiya had to go through one of the most difficult experiences life could offer. No man should have to outlive his own children, much less three of them. More than anyone, Tsunade knew, Jiraiya had mourned the deaths of Minato, Nagato, and Yahiko. The Yellow Flash, the God of Pain, and the Heart of Amegakure… the worst student of the three had gone on to become the best teacher.

He had persevered though, because he had no other choice. Naruto was still torn over his actions during the war, and Konan needed his protection to prevent her execution. So he held private funerals for his sons, stepped away from his broken heart, and slowly began the laborious task of rebuilding his family. More than anything else, this had cemented Tsunade's respect for the man. He had done what she could not after Nawaki and Dan died.

It also left her jealous of the joy he had now. A daughter to take care of him in his elderly age, a son to take up his legacy, and even a grandchild he could spoil. And judging from the sheer amount of toad-related paraphernalia in Bolt's room, he was giving even the notoriously indulgent Hiashi a run for his money.

It left Tsunade feeling cold, though she could admit to the ludicrousness of her feelings. She knew that Naruto considered her to be a grandmother-figure of sorts- though why _she_ got the grandmother label, while _Jiraiya _was consider a father was beyond her understanding- but it wasn't the same. No matter how close Naruto was with her, or all of the time she spent grooming him to become the Hokage, he would always belong to Jiraiya.

Naruto was considered the legacy of the Toad Sannin, his final and most powerful apprentice (though whether or not Jiraiya would demand the right to train Bolt was still a question), and would always return to the white-haired man. Almost all of his signature techniques had been learned from Jiraiya, or expanded from what Jiraiya taught him, and even today, he wore the kanji for 'oil' on the back of his hakama. It made Tsunade feel nostalgic, because Minato had done the same thing before he had assumed the Hokage position.

This was why she considered Jiraiya to the luckiest of the Sennin. He had been raised a gutter rat orphan, unlike Tsunade the clan princess or Orochimaru the disgraced noble, and when he gained students, he chose to treat them as if they were his own children. He pinned all of his hopes, and dreams, and efforts into protecting them and helping them stand on their own feet. Jiraiya poured all of his energy into them, and in turn, they couldn't help but reciprocate. He set out to create a family, and he was very much successful in this endeavor.

After all, Jiraiya had never needed an invitation for dinner.


End file.
